Fixed-blade carry with pack?

Z

Zak Smith

Joined
Oct 6, 1999
Messages
17
I'd like to carry a fixed-blade (eg: F1, Companion, Nimravus) in some accessible manner while out in the woods, but I'm usually wearing a pack with a hip-belt which conflicts with normal belt-attachments such as the stock sheaths, or holsters.

What are some good ideas to solve this problem?

thanks
Zak
 
Hi,

Why not attach your Nimravus or F1 upside down to the shoulderstrap.
The backpack should have some band of webbing sown over the padded shoulder part which forms "loops" were you should ge able to attach the sheath.

Cheers,

Bagheera

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Newt Livesay of the Wicked Knife Co. makes an excellent sheath for attaching to pack strap. It is called an LBE sheath (load bearing equipment) and works great (for that purpose), while you visit his site check out the Air Assault. This is the field knife that replaced my Nimravus (which now lives in the kitchen and is still great for urban carry). You can't go wrong with any of Newt's knives the design and quality are great and you can't beat the prices.
I believe he has Nimravi sheaths in stock, check his forum for in stock items. www.newt.livesay.com
Be safe,
Chad

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"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
George Orwell
"Those who hold the thin blue line keep order, and insure that anarchy and chaos will not prevail."

[This message has been edited by chad234 (edited 08-16-2000).]
 
I use gaffers tape to secure my Busse #5 to the shoulder strap of my backpack. The gaffers tape (like black fabric duct tape) is strong, but does not leave a sticky residue like duct tape. Works great with no damage to teh sheath or the pack. Hope this helps.

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"Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n"
John Milton
There are only two types of people; those who understand this, and those who think they do.
 
Why don't you just buy an H-harness (military web gear). They are quite cheap at surplus stores and you can attach a butt pack, water canteens, and your knife in a variety of configurations. Plus, if you drop your pack, you'll always have your first line gear ready. S/F
 
I wanted to carry my Cold Steel SRK with me camping and on day hikes, but felt that attaching it to my shoulder strap might scare the sheeple I met on the trail and create a wrong first impression.

My solution was to make use of the two cinch straps that are on the bottom of my pack. Originally intended to attach gear below the pack, I found them ideal for attaching the SRK's sheath using its belt loop and leg tie-down holes.

So now I have immediate access to my knife behind me and it's pretty much completely out of sight. The only slight drawback for me is having to be a little careful where I set down the pack so as not to overly dirty or damge the knife.

JB
 
Johan - gaffer's tape, with some para-cord for security, is a good idea.

Cesar - the H-harness connects to a regular military web-belt, right? The limit to what can comfortable fit under my packs' hip belts is a single-thickness 1.5" belt, so I'm skeptical about that idea.

JonlyBonly - I was playing with the idea of attaching the sheath to back of the pack, on the bottom, but I concluded that I couldn't secure it well enough, and that re-sheathing and re-snapping the retention while wearing the pack was much too difficult to do reliably.

Chad - I couldn't find the LBE sheath on Newt's site - do you have a direct link to it?

thanks for the ideas.

Zak


[This message has been edited by Zak Smith (edited 08-16-2000).]
 
I've actually put sheath knives directly onthe waist strap at times! Try it and see if you like it!



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Plainsman
primitiveguy@hotmail.com
<A HREF="http://pub7.ezboard.com/bplainsmanscabin.html" TARGET=_blank>
Plainsman's Cabin Forums</A>
 
I usually carry an Ultimate Extender hipbag on my hikes. http://www.sierrasurplus.com/extender.html
Mine is a little bit different from that one (newer?) and has two little pouches right and left in the front. The belt is the 2" auto seat belt type on my bag.

The knife I put on the belt is a Mad Dog P-ATAK. It was quite a task to get the belt looped out of all the buckles to get the knife between the front pouch and the right bottle holder, but it fits there perfectly. I carry it open but nobody has ever noticed/commented on it. The knife just blends in since it and the belt are black and the pack is dark green (mine has a dark purple lining). If you take a knife with a sheath on which you can open the belt loop (like a CRK Mark VI or a Nimravus) you can just easily snap the knife in and out of place. My Mad Dog has to stay there. The high ride sheaths are MUCH better for this purpose than all this dangler types. The move too much, can cause discomfort when you walk faster and don't attach them to your leg and are simply too visible.

I've plaid with that idea to lash the knife under the bottom of the bag, but the problem is that it dangles too much. The whole bag becomes unstable durgin faster walking. It's better to have the knife close to your body. Besides that you have to prevent the handle from sticking out. But it can be an option.
 
strap it to your leg via 2 straps made of elastic webbing and d rings, totally adjustable and the elasticy allows for muscular movement.
 
When wearing a backpack, I often carry a fixed blade inside a belt pack that I wear facing forward. If it is a light knife, like a Mora or a Grohmann, you can carry it as a neck knife. http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/moraneck.htm

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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
There was an article in one of the earliest "Tactical Knives" magazine showing a knife in a kydex sheath attached to the bottom of a day pack. I think the pack had half the velcro sewn to it while the kydex sheath had the other half attached somehow. It could be detached with quite a bit of effort, but was very secure when walking. The handle of the medium sized knife stuck out a bit but was within easy grasp.

Let me say something about attaching sheathes upside down on anything. Sooner or later, the device that keeps the knife in the sheath will fail (straps, friction, molded kydex, etc.). Maybe not right away, but some time you will trip and fall or bump up against something, I don't know what, but you will look down and find your knife missing. This was much more applicable for soldiers that are always firing prone, crawling under something, etc., but even hunters, hikers, and campers will eventually find an empty sheath. It is just a matter of time before your defiance of the laws of gravity are rectified!

It may look cool to have the handle attached downward, you might even fancy yourself a Ranger or SF trooper, but you are going to lose a knife. Attach it to your thigh, calf, or someplace else but DON'T ATTACHE IT UPSIDE DOWN! Where do you think all those knives you find in the woods come from?

Just remember I told you so!

Bruce Woodbury
 
In the UK you don't carry large knives openly unless in uniform. My solution was to sew a long flat pocket with a web strap crossing the top onto the side of my 40 ltr daysack (which has no sidepockets). I can put any large sized knives in it: 7 inch to 14. Its quite usefull for other things as well.
I carry more than one knife, and if I am going to do some work then I'll take the daysack off.
 
Hey Guys....

Bruce...
As far as carrying upside down...
That's not really the case...

I carried a Gerber MKII upside down for years in it's factory sheath,with never so much as a problem..It's all in how you attach the knife/sheath to the pack..

As far as synthetic sheaths go,, if it properly designed to be carried upside down, you should Never have a problem.

My Spyderco Moran has been attached to my daypack Upside down for almost a year, and hasn't budged from it's sheath..

I agree with you if the sheath is Not designed,,or improperly designed for the job,, Yes then you may loose the knife.

I attach all of my pack knives using E-tape or military duct tape.

Lashing a knife or sheath down with paracord is Utterly Useless.

You'll be lucky to get a mile with it before it starts flopping around as the knots and lashing loosen up.

Some type of tape is the absolute best way to suspend a sheath from LBV gear or pack straps.No one I know,,or have ever seen lashes a sheath down with paracord.It just doesn't stay tight enough for long enough.

If you want to carry a knife on a pack, have a sheath or a belt loop designed to fit the particular belt and carry it horizontal on the pack belt.

This puts the knife in easy reach.

Truthfully though you should always be carrying your knife on your person and not on your gear..

ttyle Eric...

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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel
Custom,Quality, Concealex Sheaths.

Leading The Way In Synthetic Sheathing.
 
im with normark on this one,that knife should be on you,not your gear. if that pack goes floatin' down the river or stumblin' down the side of a mountain,you'll still have your blade.

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im sharp as a softball
 
Normark, thanks for the input, but I'm not talking about attaching the sheath to something, I'm talking about keeping the knife in the sheath against the force of gravity. You give some examples of how it hasn't happened to you, yet! But it will, and you probably won't tell us when it does. It may take years but some day you will be looking for your knife. Gravity will not be defied forever!

Now I'll take my medication and lie back down here in my room with the button-tucked wallpaper!

Bruce
 
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